Though information and communications technology (ICT) will play an important role in creating sustainable cities of the future, a services delivery platform is required to leverage ICT effectively, according to an IDC (News - Alert) whitepaper.
Besides the services delivery platform, factors, including scalable and flexible services-based ecosystem, will enable city administrators to utilize ICT capabilities to create sustainable urbanization, economic growth and environment sustainability, IDC said in its white paper called “Delivering Next-Generation Citizen Services.”
The whitepaper is sponsored by networking major Cisco.
“Today the world over, as cities are growing rapidly, the challenge to make them smarter is also greater,” said Anil Menon, president of globalization and Smart+Connected Communities at Cisco (News 
- Alert), in a statement. “Early adoption and integration of ICT in the city master plan is vital in helping citizens lead a better life.”
Important elements such as planning, implementing and managing ICT across cities are vital to build technologically advanced smart cities. The service delivery platform will contribute significantly for deploying smart services that will enable citizens of the future to live in greener, smarter, more secure and sustainable communities.
“Local governments move away from asking ‘why’ and ‘if’ to the ‘when’ and ‘how’ in terms of sustainability programs to drive an agenda around economic growth and job creation in an environmentally sustainable manner,” said Philip Carter, associate vice president, IDC Asia Pacific. “They are also looking at technology playing a more proactive role to drive the delivery of next-generation citizen services.”
Recently, Cisco announced its partnership with New Songdo International City Development (NSIC) to reach new milestones in the development of Songdo International Business District, a 1,500-acre new city on the coast of Incheon, South Korea.
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Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
